Exequiel Zeballos Joins Monza After Napoli Deal Falls Through

Exequiel Zeballos was supposed to be walking out at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Instead, he stepped off a flight in Milan and into Monza’s project.

A few weeks ago, the deal with Napoli looked almost done. The Argentine forward had agreed personal terms and was lined up as a sharp, future-focused signing for the Scudetto contenders. Napoli pushed with an offer in the region of €10m plus add-ons. Boca Juniors pushed back. The answer was no.

With his contract running down and due to expire on December 31, the story took a twist. On deadline day, Zeballos didn’t head for Naples or a Champions League chase. He signed for Monza.

The Lombardy club moved smartly. The fee is believed to be around €4m, but only for 60 per cent of his contract. Boca Juniors hold on to 40 per cent of any future sale, a clear bet that Zeballos will grow in value in Europe.

The 24-year-old landed in Italy and met reporters at Milan airport, still catching his breath from a whirlwind few days. "It all happened so fast, I will speak with coach Ivan Juric today," he said, outlining his immediate priority. Then came the personal touch. "I wanted to come to Italy because my father's idol is Maradona."

The link to Napoli never felt purely financial. It ran through family, through Buenos Aires, through the myth of Diego. Zeballos also leaned on advice from a man who knows Serie A as well as anyone in that Boca dressing room: Leandro Paredes, the former Roma and Juventus midfielder.

"It's true, Paredes gave me a lot of advice, especially when we were talking about Napoli," Zeballos revealed. The move to the south never materialised, but the guidance still shaped his leap across the Atlantic.

On the pitch, Monza are getting a wide attacker comfortable on either flank, someone who can stretch the game or cut inside and create. For Boca Juniors, Zeballos delivered 16 goals and 16 assists in 140 competitive appearances, numbers that hint at steady production rather than raw chaos.

Now he swaps the noise of La Bombonera for the tight, ambitious environment of Monza, under a coach known for demanding intensity and personality. Napoli’s loss becomes Monza’s gamble.

If Boca are right about that 40 per cent, this deadline day detour could end up looking like the start of something far bigger than a quiet arrival at a Lombardy airport.